What employees need to know about their employees.

Time and again we find ourselves re-recruiting trying to fill in the voids left by employees either through death, for another organisation, promotion or dismissal. The West, The US and Arab nations were hit by a recession just over 5 years ago and most countries are still yet to fully recover and put structures in place to sustain their economies. In this time most people lost their savings, homes and mostly the job market was hit due to a lot of companies going into administration leaving a huge unemployment figures.

The sectors which were not affected where business which give daily services and people need regardless what direction the economy is taking. Employees became aware of the importance of their jobs and did everything in their power to secure their employment. Skill really didn't matter since it was up to the HR DEPARTMENT 'who was to stay and let go'.  360 degree feedback became more effective than ever, the employer felt that they had to retain the most effective teams and individuals who could (i) work together effectively to achieve the organisational goals (ii) do the same work for less money than the others. This generally meant that people had to do more with less - long story short the most skilled were very vulnerable.

Employers felt this was the best way forward, since there was little information about any recession precedence they thought that they were ahead of their game. Many individuals struggled to secure new jobs mostly which were not even in their trade/profession just to sustain their family day to day living. Finally their comfort zone had been shifted, stakeholders is one word which sums a bunch of people from different backgrounds and at different levels. I am sure by now you know which level will be affected the most, the bottom of the food chain definitely employees.

Over the years the situation has evolved and with the global economies recovering employees have realised that they are just as good as the next. As a general term and notion employees now keep a close eye and ear on the ground so that this time they can see it coming. Employees now know that they are disposable when the going gets tough, employees now know that redundancies are a way of life and can come at anytime and most importantly you will need a back-up plan in the event any of this catches up with you. Employers need to know that the second an employee is offered a new venture they will not be loyal but do what in their best interest, unlike back in the day a comfortable work environment could suffice for an employee - the tables have turned employees now know how to protect themselves and more.

Employers now need to understand that not only is job security motivates employees but being part of the business will now go a long way to retain and have impeccable structures. Employees are now watching their backs clearly who could blame them after what happened, incentives used to go a long way but this time they will not cut it. Shares, shares, shares will probably be the greatest selling point for any employee who needs to be retained. For example the Royal Mail being sold means its going private and to secure jobs and reassure employees that they are still going to be part of the new venture they have offered each employees shares worth £2000, which will go a long way in a company as huge and effective as the main mail distributor in the whole of the United Kingdom.

Therefore employers please be informed that employees are not only an asset to your business but family and need to be treated as such in every aspect. "I have been very fortunate to have had a boss who treated me this way and as a gesture offered an honorary lifetime position in their company which I think is fantastic". So employers be always aware of your employees needs otherwise you will lose them to your competition or better yet they will become your competition. In a nutshell, 'never take them for granted - especially the hardworking ones.'

'20 Motivational Business Quotes to Read Every Morning'

Like most entrepreneurs, my office is cluttered with motivational books, approaches and quotes. Some of these quotes are taped to my desk, while others are hanging on the wall to review every hour or so.

Not a day goes by that I don't review the following quotes. It inspires me to focus on what's most important to accomplish during that particular day, and to not get sidetracked by email, tasks or clutter that don't grow the business.

Here are 20 of my favorite quotes. I hope they inspire you as much as they inspire me.

“Out there in some garage is an entrepreneur who’s forging a bullet
with your company’s name on it.”
Gary Hamel, Business Writer

“If you don’t make mistakes, you aren’t really trying.”
Coleman Hawkins, Jazz Musician

“Patience, persistence and perspiration make an unbeatable
combination for success.”
Napoleon Hill, Author

“There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that
which should not be done at all.”
Peter Drucker

“I cannot give you the formula for success, but I can give you the formula for
failure, which is: Try to please everybody.”
Herbert B. Swope, American Journalist

“If you have always done it that way, it is probably wrong.”
Charles Kettering, Engineer

“I am a man of fixed and unbending principles, the first of which is to be
flexible at all times.”
Everett Dirksen

“Without customers, you don’t have a business. You have a hobby.”
Don Peppers & Martha Rogers, Return on Customer

“Judge a man by his questions, not by his answers.”
Voltaire

“The minute you’re satisfied with where you are, you aren’t there anymore.”
Tony Gwynn, Hall of Fame Baseball player

“Speed is useful only if you are running in the right direction.”
Joel Barker, Future Edge

“They always say time changes things,
but you actually have to change them yourself.”
Andy Warhol

“An organization becomes bewildered rather than energized
when it’s asked to do too much at once.”
Michael Hammer & James Champy, Reengineering The Corporation

“If you try to do something and fail, you are vastly better off
than if you had tried nothing and succeeded.”
The Back of a Sugar Packet (Anonymous)

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."
Phil 4:13

*****

Do you read motivational quotes as part of your work day? Do you have any particular sayings that have made a difference in your life? Originally shared by Joe Pulizi

Work Accidents continue to cripple work environments.

Accidents can never be wholly avoided but to a greater extend the risk of their reoccurrences can be minimised through risk assessments and proper steps to help assist the HR department cut or oust any existing accidents which is likely to have a positive impact on the end product fundamentally.

Time and time again we wonder if the proper procedures are being carried out and whether they are up to date, if training is continually mandated then why do we find that the work environment suffers the same issues as before the introduction of the health and safety updates after training.

In most instances it is just ignorance by staff and the “I know it all” attitudes which will then affect effectively everyone who wants to follow the crowd (informal channels) ways of conducting work. While appraisals have proved to be effective to a certain extent in other work environments where the work ethics are not top notch (were the managers cannot lead effectively) their team will defy the entrustment initially invested in them by their assigned team leaders.

The 360 degree feedback system also worked for a while there and in terms of effectiveness it was fantastic. Until employees realised that they should protect each other for job security, while employers also realised the resources used to develop the skills invested in the employees and the expense of rehiring then these two parties worked amicably to deceive the stakeholders to reduce the impact of the negatives of the organisation as long as some sort of profits were being showcased everything seems safe. This research is a true reflection of how honest work instruments developed to help move the organisations positively ahead are being misled, not to say that most organisations are not honest ethically but having discussed with a lot of employees and employers, I am afraid these are the disturbing results.

Accidents affect everyone directly or indirectly within any work environment and working collectively can only yield the best results towards the main objectives of the organisation. Informal structures within any working environment should be quashed and where evident/suspicious reported immediately.  The steps should be made clear for everyone to understand and where anonymity is requested be treated with the highest levels of secrecy because of the repercussions the reporting party might suffer for making such a bold move.

In this research we also noted that most accidents are caused by lack of intensive induction training and massively by the longest serving employees (they believe they know everything because of their long service) therefore the HR department should highlight these factors on their policies/job description/staff handbook so that each and every employee know the proper route/action to take in case they have any queries or complaints. In some cases people chose to go straight to the regulatory boards to whistle blow because of the ignorance and continual reluctance of the supervisors or managers that they would have reported these accidents to with no action taken leaving them with no choice but to take it higher. In most companies this will be a regarded as an extreme measure which can lead to dismissal because they believe their complaints avenues are clear and prefer to deal with these sensitive issues in-house.

Therefore as a precautionary measure it is never too expensive to deal with the underlined issues above, let alone talk to the employees anonymously by outsourcing consultants who are not known by both parties (the employees and employers) to carry out a report on causes of these accidents and from the report work effectively to minimise the potential risks from developing to an actual accident. Regulatory boards carry updated pointers on what to look at or assess to help the well-being of the employees and employers within their work environment. The safety of employees should be considered to be at the top of the organisation priority list because without this assert the organisational objectives will be very difficult to realise therefore making it next to impossible for the organisation to exist at all.

If these measures are carefully executed and systematically updated there will be a few accident cases which means that the budget for law cases against the organisation are reduced. Therefore channelling the funds to other much needed work related projects such as incentive programmes or interesting training sessions which will continue to raise awareness of employees in their field of expertise.